


after the rain

by carpesoo



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Office, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mention of BaekSoo, Unrequited Crush
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-19
Updated: 2021-03-19
Packaged: 2021-03-22 21:14:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30044835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carpesoo/pseuds/carpesoo
Summary: "if you love somebody then their happiness is your happiness; their pain is your pain."Sehun can actually feel the pain in his chest when his crush, Baekhyun, reveals that he and his boyfriend have just broken up.
Relationships: Byun Baekhyun/Oh Sehun
Comments: 6
Kudos: 16
Collections: Round 1 - Inside Out





	after the rain

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the First Round of 500 Feelings: INSIDE OUT.

Sehun glances at the clock on the bottom right hand corner of his monitor. Ten more minutes and the work week is officially over. Not that Sehun usually spends his time counting down the seconds till he can leave. He actually quite likes his job. Today is an exception, however.

It’s the first Friday of the month.

Sehun’s been looking forward to this day for weeks.

The team manager, Junmyeon, had constantly emphasised the importance of team camaraderie. After almost a year of incessant memos and emails proposing a casual after work social every month, the team had finally agreed to it. A year later and no one would even consider skipping the event.

“I’m so ready for tonight!” Sehun hears someone say from behind him.

Byun Baekhyun.

Sehun smiles at the sound of his voice.

It was during one of their scheduled hangouts at a local karaoke bar that Sehun had first noticed Baekhyun. Before then, Sehun had barely paid him much attention, regarding him as nothing more than an esteemed senior and colleague. Watching Baekhyun sing as if he belonged on stage rather than sat behind a desk changed his perspective. Sehun couldn’t take his eyes off him.

And hasn’t ever since.

Sehun steals glances at Baekhyun when he makes his way towards the photocopier situated on the opposite end of the office. As per usual, Baekhyun’s eyes are glued to the document in his hands and isn’t watching where he’s going.

“Mother-father!” he exclaims out loud causing the entire office to look up from their screens.

“Walk into the filing cabinet again?” Chanyeol asks.

“Every. Single. Goddamn. Time.” Baekhyun massages the point of contact, still reeling from the pain. “I’ve asked Junmyeon to move it a billion times.”

“To where?” Chanyeol replies.

He’s got a point. They don’t exactly have room to spare.

“I don’t know—his office?” Baekhyun replies.

Junmyeon had shot down the idea, stating that it would be inconvenient for everyone to make trips to his office multiple times a day just to access it.

“You okay?” Sehun asks.

Baekhyun nods and shoots him a smile. “Yeah, I’ll be fine. I’m glad someone in the office cares about me.”

If only he knew just how much.

What had started as harmless admiration, developed into a full blown crush in a flash. Baekhyun is the most positive person on the team. Quite possibly, the entire company. There’s never a dull moment whenever he’s around. There’s also the fact that Sehun finds him hella attractive. Baekhyun’s smile, though. It could brighten even the darkest of nights.

Unfortunately for Sehun, Baekhyun is in a long-term relationship with his childhood sweetheart. Sehun has met The Boyfriend on several occasions. As much as he hates to admit it, they make a pretty cute couple. More importantly, Baekhyun always appears the most happiest whenever he’s around.

“Time to goooooo!” Chanyeol announces as soon as the clock strikes half five and is the first one out of the door as per usual.

“You coming?”

Sehun look up from his monitor and spots a Baekhyun smiling back at him. Sehun nods and turns off the screen. Future Sehun can be in charge of completing the report. He can also explain to Junmyeon why it wasn’t submitted before the weekend—it’s not Present Sehun’s problem anymore.

Sehun avoids making eye contact with the people surrounding him. He makes sure to look away from Chanyeol’s big puppy dog eyes in particular. With no signs of letting up, Sehun exhales loudly. “Fine, you guys can start without me.”

“Thanks!” they chorus as they start shovelling food into their mouths without any sense of shame.

“Yours will be out in a minute,” the waitress tells him.

Sehun thanks her and takes a sip of water. Of course, his dish would be the last one out. As he waits, Sehun discreetly observes Baekhyun from the corner of his eye. Known to be the loudest eater and talker of them all, Baekhyun is unusually quiet. In fact, he’s barely said a word since returning to the table after a quick bathroom break when they first arrived at the restaurant.

“Is everything okay, Baekhyun?” Sehun asks.

He smiles at Sehun and nods. “Of course, why wouldn’t I be?”

Sehun can tell the expression is forced but doesn’t press him any further. “TGIF, am I right?”

“Exactly!” Chanyeol—seated in between the two of them—drapes an arm around Sehun before mirroring the action with Baekhyun. “Hey, Byun. Will Kyungsoo be joining us?”

Baekhyun shakes his head.

“You should ask him—the more the merrier!” Junmyeon chimes in.

“I don’t think it’ll be a good idea,” Baekhyun replies.

Chanyeol rests his head on Baekhyun’s shoulder. “I know he’s a little quiet but we all like him, don’t we?”

The group agrees with a well synchronised series of head nodding. Chaneyol, in particular, appears very enthusiastic about the idea of Kyungsoo joining them. He probably wants him to tell more embarrassing stories about Baekhyun.

“Actually… we broke up,” Baekhyun reveals and the entire table falls quiet.

“Shit. I’m sorry to hear that. I wouldn’t have said anything I had known,” Junmyeon is the first to speak up. “In my defence, you’ve been cracking jokes all day so I never would have suspected it.”

“It only just happened,” Baekhyun responds.

Silence ensues once more.

“Right. Well, are you sure that it’s absolutely over?” Junmyeon clears his throat several times. “I mean, you guys have been dating for a very long time. You never know—”

“Junmyeon—please stop talking!” Sehun cuts him off, unable to listen to Junmyeon’s clumsy words any longer.

It’s so typical of their boss. Always putting his foot in his mouth.

“It’s okay, you didn’t know,” Baekhyun says.

Sehun takes one look at Baekhyun’s smiling face and without warning, tears start to stream down his face.

The sparkle in Baekhyun’s eyes are no longer there.

“Why are you crying, Sehun?” Minseok asks and the table turn their attention to Sehun.

Sehun wishes he knew the reason behind the abrupt onset of tears. He excuses himself and heads outside for some fresh air. One would think that _he’s_ the one going through a breakup. For some reason, Sehun feels as if he is. Not to be overdramatic, but Sehun could only compare the pain with having your heart ripped out.

“Sehun?” he hears Baekhyun calling out his name. “Are you okay?”

Sehun refuses to turn around, not wanting his crush to see the snot dripping from his nose. He tries to wipe his face as best as he can with his sleeve.

“Here.”

Sehun looks down and sees a napkin in Baekhyun’s hand. “T-Thanks.”

Baekhyun takes a seat and gestures for Sehun to do the same. Sehun remains quiet. He doesn’t know if he should comfort Baekhyun, or if it would be better to mind his own business. What he does feel, however, is an overwhelming urge to hug the man, but he refrains from doing so.

“Are you also having relationship problems?” Baekhyun asks.

“No, I’m not,” Sehun tells him but doesn’t explain any further. After all, who cries on someone else’s behalf?

“I see. I guess it’s just me then.” Baekhyun sighs loudly.

Sehun can feel his eyes welling up but he fights back the urge to cry again. He wants to take a hold of Baekhyun’s hand, pull him into his arms and protect him, but Sehun fears it would be inappropriate to do so. Instead, he offers Baekhyun some words of comfort. It’s all he can do at this point. “You don’t have to talk about it if you’re not ready to, but I want you to know that I’m here for you,” he tells Baekhyun.

As soon as their eyes meet, Baekhyun breaks down into tears. “It hurts so much, Sehun. Everything hurts. I don’t even know where it all went wrong.”

It doesn’t take long before Sehun is crying, too.

“And by text. Can you believe it? Over ten years together and he ends it with a flipping _text_. Not even a phone call.” Baekhyun offers Sehun his phone to take a look at the message.

Sehun shakes his head. He’s not comfortable with reading a text that isn’t intended for him. He cups Baekhyun’s face and wipes his cheeks with his thumbs. “It hurts me to see you like this, Baekhyun.”

Baekhyun leans into his touch. “Sehun, I…”

Sehun pulls away, not wanting to take advantage of Baekhyun in this state. He does, however, want to help distract the other from his pain and heartbreak. “Let’s go,” he says.

“Go where?” Baekhyun asks him.

Sehun rises to his feet and offers Baekhyun a hand. “You’ll see.”

They’re back at the office.

Sehun is fumbling for the light switch and Baekhyun… well, Sehun isn’t too sure what Baekhyun is up to. Sehun moves his hand over the smooth surface of the wall—he knows he’s in the right vicinity. He hears a loud thud followed by a long stream of profanity. Sehun attempts to stifle his laughter but fails miserably.

“Stop laughing—it really hurts!” Baekhyun says.

Sehun gives up. He pulls out his phone and turns on the torch. WIth the much needed assistance of a light source, Sehun finally locates the switch and flicks it on. He laughs again when he spots Baekhyun curled up on the floor in a foetal position.

“Get up and help me move this.”

Baekhyun’s eyes light up when he understands Sehun’s intent. With a little teamwork and elbow grease, the two manage to manoeuvre the filing cabinet into Junmyeon’s office. Sehun starts to remove all the documents housed in the cabinet and replaces it with the paperwork on Junmyeon’s desk.

“Probably should’ve done this earlier. Would’ve made our lives a whole lot easier,” Baekhyun points out a little too late.

They turn to one another and burst into a fit of laughter simultaneously.

“Now you won’t be bumping into it five hundred times a day,” Sehun says after they find a new home for the folders that had been removed from ~~the office’s~~ Junmyeon’s new filing cabinet.

Baekhyun grins and Sehun notices that the sparkle in his eyes has returned. “Thanks, Sehun.”

Sehun understands that it’s not the right time to pursue a romantic relationship with Baekhyun. Not yet, anyway. Baekhyun needs time to heal. For the time being, Sehun’s more than content with seeing him smile. A genuine one. Not the forced expression he’d witnessed back at the restaurant.

“Anytime, Baekhyun.”

“Jeez Louise, that hurts!” Sehun hears Junmyeon exclaim from his office.

Every day for the past several months, Junmyeon has been suffered the same fate Baekhyun had endured before. With the filing cabinet containing documents for Junmyeon’s eyes only, Baekhyun had used the argument that Junmyeon had previously asserted. The rest of the team rallied behind Baekhyun (with the assistance from Sehun.) Without wanting to appear as if he were abusing his power of authority, Junmyeon had conceded. The cabinet stays in its new home.

Sehun and Baekhyun make eye contact and they smile at each other. Sehun’s mood is instantly lifted. He doesn’t even complain when Junmyeon adds more assignments to his already packed schedule. Part of him believes his boss has figured out he’d been the one behind the Filing Cabinet Relocation and is singling him out in revenge but hey… He’s guilty as charged.

Chanyeol slides over to Sehun’s desk. “You wanna grab a drink after work?”

“I’ve already got plans,” Sehun tells him.

“Boo!” Chanyeol jeers before turning to Baekhyun. “How about you?”

Baekhyun shakes his head. “I regret to inform you that I’m also unavailable.”

Baekhyun shoots Sehun a discreet wink and Sehun returns a thumbs up before quickly diverting his attention back to the report he’s been tasked to complete.

Sehun isn’t one to kiss and tell but what he will say is that there’s definitely some kissing (and more) going on that he dares not to tell.


End file.
